Many of us spend a ton of time on the World Wide Web, be it reading the news, researching, checking email, or chatting with friends around the world almost instantaneously. And we can do all of these activities through a web browser.

But how do browsers and the web actually work? What do terms like “cookies” or “cloud computing” even mean? More practically, how can we keep ourselves safe from security threats like viruses when we’re online?

“20 Things” is written by the Chrome team, and continues our tradition of finding new ways to help explain complex but fascinating ideas about technology. Many of the examples used to illustrate the features of the browser refer back to Chrome.

We built “20 Things” in HTML5 so that we could incorporate features that hearken back to what we love about books—feeling the heft of a book’s cover, flipping a page or even reading under the covers with a flashlight. In fact, once you’ve loaded “20 Things” in the browser, you can disconnect your laptop and continue reading, since this guidebook works offline. As such, this illustrated guidebook is best experienced in Chrome or any up-to-date, HTML5-compliant modern browser.

For things you’ve always wanted to know about the web and browsers but may have been afraid to ask, read on at www.20thingsilearned.com (or, you can use the handy shortened URL at goo.gl/20things). If you find “20 Things” informative, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family!

A few months ago, my colleague Julia and I were at a technology conference for educators, and we had the chance to hear first-hand how much teachers loved the capabilities that Google Docs brings to their classrooms. They were so excited to show of their favorite features like forms, and working on the same docs at the same time.

We knew we wanted to share that same excitement with even more teachers and students. Inspired by the Search Stories videos, we set off to give one fun example of how Google Docs might be used your school. The result is this video:

As the election results trickle in, we hope you enjoy seeing some of the cool features Google Docs offers in action. Hopefully it will inspire you to think of other great ways to use it on your campus!

Two years ago, we created the Google Docs Community on YouTube as a space to feature user-created videos about Google Docs. Today, we’re reviving the channel with new life and new videos from the community and the Google Docs team. We even have a special playlist geared especially toward students and teachers.

This channel is a great resource for learning about Google Docs in more detail, and for sharing your success stories and knowledge for others to benefit from. The channel will become even more valuable the more contributions we receive, so we're looking to you to help build this up and make it even better. If you have a demo, tutorial, or testimonial you'd like to share with the world, make a video telling the world all about it and then submit it to the community channel for others to enjoy. Submit your stories on our video submission form – we may even feature it on our blog or Twitter feed!

On the channel, you can view Google Docs success stories:

And learn how to use features in Google Docs and Sites, ranging from basic editing to features used by our most advanced users:

You’ll even be able to check out new Google Docs and Sites features:

Check out the channel to connect with the Docs community and the Google Docs team, and learn tips and tricks. If you want to hear more, just click the subscribe button on the channel, and if you’d like to submit a video to share with the world, simply fill out this form.